The government is bent on chasing unscrupulous individuals involved in scams and other malpractices in the housing and real estate sector.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has led the creation of the Anti-Illegal Real Estate Service Practices Interagency Task Force through a joint memorandum circular (JMC) with several government agencies.
The collaboration among institutions targets to synchronize all government efforts in curtailing unlawful activities in housing and real estate and boost coordination across the board.
Apart from DHSUD, the departments of Interior and Local Government, Justice, and Environment and Natural Resources, and the Professional Regulation Commission, among others, are also part of the task force.
Housing chief Eduardo Del Rosario said the JMC will ensure that unscrupulous individuals and swindlers who are victimizing homebuyers, especially overseas Filipino workers, are properly dealt with.
“We have to protect the interest of our homebuyers. With this, I am confident that we can address and substantially lessen these scammers in the real estate industry by working together,” Del Rosario said.
DHSUD will lead the task force with DILG and DOJ as co-chairs. The DENR, PRC, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Registration Authority, and Philippine National Police will act as members.
The JMC aims to not only eliminate unscrupulous real estate service practices but also formulate appropriate policies and regulations, speedy filing and prosecuting cases concerning violations of related regulations, and devising measures to ensure a simple and expeditious process of securing authentication of property titles and ownership, among others.
Part of DHSUD’s mandate is to protect the interest and livelihood of licensed brokers and real estate developers, as well as safeguard homebuyers from being duped.
Illegal real estate practices violate Presidential Decree No. 957. They also undermine the government’s land and housing program and hinder the objective of enhancing the economic, social and moral condition of Filipinos, especially the underprivileged.